Travellers should always take extra care in respecting the culture and habits of places they visit, even if they consider that their way of life is better or in the worst case, superior.

Since 1983 my family has been involved as a sponsor of cultural exchange programes for high-school and college level students. All my cousins and brothers, as myself, have studied and lived aboad, in diverse countries, and we have received as hosts an even greater number of international students that lived with us for periods ranging from a couple of weeks to whole years, and with some of which we still maintain very long friendships. We have also contributed financially for the promotion of these programmes in order to enable yougn girls and boys to experience first hand how different ultures are.

As an explorer I also hav edeveloped my own modest understanding of the significance of different cultures and the importance of mutual respect to make our wolrd a bette place. So I invite you to peer thorought this series of articles that I start today with no plans to ever really finish; perhaps our experiences may be useful for you, as well as enjoyable to read.